On March 4, two males robbed the Provident Bank at 5815 Burke Center Parkway in Burke. Now, Fairfax County Police have arrested one of the suspects, a 17-year-old Burke boy.

In a March 4 affidavit for a warrant to search the teen’s home for possible evidence, Fairfax County Police robbery Det. Craig Guyton, with the Criminal Investigations Bureau, explained the case against him.

He wrote that, during the bank robbery, “One of the suspects was armed with a black, semi-automatic pistol and maintained control of the lobby while the other suspect vaulted the teller counter.” Cash was taken from each teller by one of the robbers, and then both left the bank on foot.

Afterward, Guyton and another detective, B.A. Gaydos, viewed the bank’s surveillance footage. One suspect’s face was partially covered with a bandana, and the other suspect wore a ski-type mask, and Gaydos thought he recognized one of them as the Burke teen. [The Connection is not revealing his name because he’s a minor].

Gaydos had previously arrested the teen; he therefore also knew his address and that he lived in the neighborhood behind the bank. So, wrote Guyton, “Police K-9 units responded to the scene and were able to establish a track from the crime scene to the wooded area behind the bank.”

There, police found a black, ski-type mask and a dye-stained pillow case. According to the affidavit, “An amount of dye-stained, U.S. currency was found inside the pillow case.”

Furthermore, some 30-45 minutes after the robbery, police Det. Earl Bowers was standing near the intersection of Oak Leather Drive and Burke Center Parkway when he saw a particular vehicle approach the intersection. A young woman was driving and, wrote Guyton, her male passenger “was acting in a suspicious manner and appeared to be avoiding eye contact with Bowers.” Bowers then ran the vehicle’s registration by the DMV and, stated Guyton, the driver turned out to be the “known girlfriend” of the Burke teen.

Guyton also wrote that a police bloodhound sniffed the mask that was recovered in the woods as evidence and began to track the specific scent on it. According to the affidavit, the dog “tracked through the neighborhood to the parking lot directly in front of [the Burke teen’s residence] and also showed interest in the front door” of that home.

On March 9, Guyton also requested a warrant to search the teen’s cell phone. He wrote that, after seeing the bank surveillance video, Gaydos believed the suspect “controlling the [bank] employees with the firearm and carrying what is believed to be a cell phone” looked like the Burke teen. In addition, Guyton obtained a warrant to take a DNA sample from the teen’s cheek so it could be compared with the DNA found on the mask.

On March 18, Guyton obtained juvenile petitions charging the teen with robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and a detention order was issued for him. The next day, March 19, Guyton went to his home and took him into custody. The teen was slated to appear in court on April 7.